Love, Sydni

“Dear NICU mama, My hope for you in 2021 is that you heal through the pain and grow alongside your baby.

It may hurt to see others who are pregnant to term hit milestones you’ll never get to. It may hurt to spend all day with your baby connected to wires, your heart stopping every time something beeps. It may hurt to watch other mamas go home with their babies as you leave the hospital each night. And it may hurt every time your phone rings and you question if it is the hospital with bad news. 

Sometimes it hurts to be positive all the time, and we need to say what we’re really feeling in order to heal. Embrace the pain and pride that comes as you watch your baby hit their milestones, and know that it’s okay to feel both.

As NICU mamas, sometimes we need to reach some milestones of our own too. When you’re feeling like you’re not cutting it, remember that you WILL hit those milestones. Maybe you finally get breastfeeding or pumping down or finish the nursery. Maybe you change a diaper or clothes without struggling with the wires and feel like a pro. Maybe you are finally able to talk about your birth experience with others without crying. Or maybe one day you are even able to walk out of the hospital with a smile on your face knowing that you achieved at feeding your baby for the day, and that’s enough. Every step you take, no matter how little it seems, is a huge accomplishment from the day before. 

You’ll grow within yourself and become the strongest and bravest mama ever, and you won’t even notice it. It will get a little easier day by day. And even though it may seem like it’s taking forever, you’re making progress. You’re just as strong as your little one, and you're growing together.”

Love,
Sydni

More of Sydni + Greyson’s NICU journey:

“One month and one week into our NICU stay, my son is currently weighing 2 1/2 pounds above his birth weight of 2 lbs 10 oz. He is now 5 lbs at almost 35 weeks. 

I was on bedrest for three days with severe eclampsia and a seizure before he was born via emergency C- section. My son also had asymmetrical IUGR. Since then he has had his stomach IV removed, came off his CPAP and moved up to preemie diapers - all of which are awesome milestones. We started breastfeeding and are hoping to be discharged soon.”